Processing facilities are often managed using process control systems. Example processing facilities include manufacturing plants, chemical plants, crude oil refineries, and ore processing plants. Among other operations, process control systems typically manage the use of motors, valves, and other industrial equipment in the processing facilities.
In conventional process control systems, controllers are often used to control the operation of the industrial equipment in the processing facilities. The controllers could, for example, monitor the operation of the industrial equipment, provide control signals to the industrial equipment, and generate alarms when malfunctions are detected.
In conventional process control systems, it is often necessary or desirable to update the software being executed by the controllers. The process of updating the software is generally referred to as “migration.” Also, different software or versions of software are generally referred to as “software releases.” The migration of a process control system to a new software release is often a critical operation because it has the potential of significantly affecting (or even stopping) the operation of a processing facility. Also, the migration of a process control system to a new software release typically needs to be done in a way that preserves the functionality and behavior of the process control system from one software release to the next.